Effects of grass species and grass growth on atmospheric nitrogen deposition to a bog ecosystem surrounded by intensive agricultural land use. Issue 13 (3rd June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hurkuck, Miriam; Brümmer, Christian; Mohr, Karsten; Spott, Oliver; Well, Reinhard; Flessa, Heinz; Kutsch, Werner L.
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 5:Issue 13(2015:Jul.)
• Page Start: 2556
• Page End: 2571
• Publication Date: 2015-06-03
• Subjects: Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1534
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="ece31534-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>We applied a <sup>15</sup>N dilution technique called "<italic>Integrated Total Nitrogen Input"</italic> (ITNI) to quantify annual atmospheric N input into a peatland surrounded by intensive agricultural practices over a 2‐year period. Grass species and grass growth effects on atmospheric N deposition were investigated using <italic>Lolium multiflorum</italic> and <italic>Eriophorum vaginatum</italic> and different levels of added N resulting in increased biomass production. Plant biomass production was positively correlated with atmospheric N uptake (up to 102.7 mg N pot<sup>−1</sup>) when using <italic>Lolium multiflorum</italic>. In contrast, atmospheric N deposition to <italic>Eriophorum vaginatum</italic> did not show a clear dependency to produced biomass and ranged from 81.9 to 138.2 mg N pot<sup>−1</sup>. Both species revealed a relationship between atmospheric N input and total biomass N contents. Airborne N deposition varied from about 24 to 55 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>. Partitioning of airborne N within the monitor system differed such that most of the deposited N was found in roots of <italic>Eriophorum vaginatum</italic> while the highest share was allocated in aboveground biomass of <italic>Lolium multiflorum</italic>. Compared to other approaches determining atmospheric N deposition, ITNI showed highest airborne N input and an up to fivefold exceedance of the ecosystem‐specific critical load of 5–10 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>.</p> </abstract>